Broken
by BurningPaperMountains
Summary: Sequel to Side Window. I would suggest reading that before this one. Percy has become depressed and isolated sense the events of Side Window. Now, his friends must get him back. (this is a horrible summery, I know. It's just really hard to explain without spoiling the first one)
1. Chapter 1

Hello there. I know this might have taken a while to come out with, but I've finally decided to do this. Finally, I'm writing a sequel to Side Window. Hopefully it doesn't ruin the original ( s/9182049/1/Side-Window if you haven't read it) for you guys. If it's that bad, you could always just viciously deny its existence. Sort of like I do with Hunchback of Notre Dame 2. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story. I am not Rick Riordan, and therefore do not own PJO or HoO (no matter how much I wish I did).

**Major Trigger Warning**: This one is (hopefully) going to be much darker than the original. It's going to discuss things like PTSD, Anxiety, and Panic Attacks. If those things don't bode well with you, this might not be the best story for you. Sorry.

Broken

Chapter One: One Hundred Sleepless Nights

Percy

His eyes. I can still see them, so lifeless, so different from those eyes that studied my arms in the hallway. Nico Di Angelo, the innocent, attempted suicide because of me. Gabe Ugliano was in a morgue. Could there be any more blood on these hands?

I'm never going to get used to those dreams. The blood smeared across the walls and the body swinging from the shutters, it was just too much. I always woke up screaming. It was horrible the night I was in custody. I woke up the guard, and he wasn't exactly happy about it, but what can you do? If I could get rid of the dreams, I would.

Then there are the panic attacks. I'm just walking around, and suddenly my head goes numb. I can feel my heartbeat through my whole body. It makes me feel like I'm dying. In fact, the first time I had one, that's what I thought. I thought I was dying, and I called 911. It was about a week after my trial. (which, by the way, I was found innocent. The self-defense plea worked, hooray.) My mom had taken me to the mall. I guess she was trying to make me feel normal again. Maybe if I hadn't killed my step-father and almost killed my friend, it would've worked. I knew something was weird when I could hear the blood flow in my head. I was shaking within a minute of that. Any outsider might have thought I was drunk or high. My mom noticed and I told her quietly to call the ambulance. The ambulance arrived quickly. The whole ride to the hospital, a voice echoed in my mind. "_Your Fault. Your Fault._" The rhythm, while terrifying, was oddly relaxing. The chants eventually lolled me to sleep. "_Your Fault. Your Fault._" It was over when I woke.

The doctor told me what it was. At first I didn't believe it. A panic attack, really? Then it happened again, and again, and again. They got worse each time, like descending into a new level of hell. And there was no way to escape them. If I stayed in my room alone, they still came. If I went out, they came. If my mom stayed with me, they still came. They rocked my world harder then I even thought possible.

I really wished I could talk to Annabeth. She might have been able to help me, but she closed her curtains all the time now. When I tried to knock on her window, she never came. And I had seen light in her room. I couldn't help but think that she hated me. I didn't blame her. What I did was monstrous. Not to mention the fact that I took advantage of her. She was vulnerable. I took advantage of that. I would talk to me in her position either.

Nico was still recovering from his attempt. I hadn't gone to him, but my mom told me that he was much better now. The day she told me that was the first day I didn't have an attack. It was also the last. I know I should have tried to talk to him, but there was just way too much guilt. I couldn't bring myself to it. I know, it's pathetic. But my entire life had become just that, pathetic. Everything I had ever worked for seemed to be gone.

Well; that _was_ the story until Leo Valdez decided to knock at my door.

* * *

It was four Sundays after the trial, at about noon when the doorbell rang. _That's strange_ I thought. _We haven't had any visitors sense the incident._ My mom opened the door before I got downstairs. It wasn't even a second after that she called up to me. "Percy!" she yelled. "There's someone here to see you."

_Me?_ I thought. _Who would want to see me?_ When I got downstairs and saw that grinning Latino boy standing there, my eyes widened and my head flooded with questions. _Why is he here? What does he want?_ He just gave me a bigger smile. "Hey, Perce. Long time, no see. What's up?"

"Leo," I said, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was getting kind of worried. You haven't been in school sense the trial. I thought maybe something happened." He explained. "Anyway, it looks like you're fine. So tell me, what's kept ya from coming back?"

I just looked at him for a few seconds. "Well," I finally said, "I've been trying to recover mentally from the whole thing."

"You can't do that by yourself. You know that, right? Everything gets easier if you have someone to help you through."

"You think I should go back?" I asked. "Won't people be a little, you know"

"Percy," He said, "everyone in the group went to the trial. Every other person in the school was following it on TV, and I'm telling you, every single person was on your side."

"But Leo," I said, "I did kill him."

"Percy," He shouted. There was a brief moment of complete silence. "Stop trying to hold this all by yourself. That's why this all happened in the first place. Let us help."

My chest felt like it was caving in on itself. "You said everyone?" I asked. He nodded. "Even Annabeth?"

He gave me a smirk. "Annabeth was worried about you the most."

"But I knocked on her window and-"

"She wanted to talk to you. She just couldn't bring herself to." He explained. "I think she was afraid that the whole thing made her insignificant to you."

"So she still likes me?"

"That's what I've been saying. So, you coming back or what?"

I had to think for a minute. I'd been away from there for so long. Was I ready? But then I thought about Annabeth, and then the rest of the group. Leo was right They could help me through this. "Alright," I said, "I'll go back tomorrow."

"Awesome!" He said.

"But I have to talk to someone first."

"Who do you wanna talk to?" he asked.

"Nico"

To be continued…

So that's that. A new story has begun. Is it good? Do you want to know what happens next? Is the title crap? Leave a review telling me what you think. A little review goes a long way. You can also Follow/Favorite it if you want. So, until next time. Make good decisions. Peace!


	2. Chapter 2: Free Now

Hello people. So, tomorrow is exciting. The House of Hades is coming! AH! So, in order to keep my excitement at a tolerable level, I decided to hurry up and write this. But yeah, (if the spoilers are true) I TOLD YOU. So in honor of the Nico spoiler, this will be a Percico chapter. Well, at least what you can consider a Percico chapter in my stories (look at SW).

Broken

Chapter 2: Free Now

Nico

So it had been about a month sense my attempt when Percy finally visited me again. I guess you could say that I had a lot of time to think about it. And you know, the more I thought about it, the more absurd the whole thing got. Looking back on it, I had tried to commit suicide because a guy didn't like me back. How stupid was that? I mean, other people have so many other problems, and they do just fine. Why did I go so far off the deep end? Maybe it was also the fear of exposure. I don't even know. Life's funny that way. Something that mattered so much, so much so that it literally seemed to be worth killing yourself over, was totally gone in less than a month. Now it just seemed so juvenile. God, no wonder Percy rejected me.

I went to the trial. I mean, how could I not? It did take some convincing of the hospital staff to let me go, even if it was with supervision. Oh well. I ended up only being able to catch the end. I remember the rush of relief when he was given the verdict. Though from what I heard, it was a pretty straight forward case. Gabe was kicking his ass again, and Percy somehow got away from him. He grabbed a knife and killed the bastard. I think the only case the prosecutor had was that he went too far. Though, with someone like Gabe, I don't think you could ever go far enough. I heard that the body was so mutilated that you could barely recognize the body. All I can say is: good job Percy!

In the end, Percy was found to have done it in self-defense, but he was required to take anger management classes/therapy sessions. He just so happened to have to go too the same one I went to. When I heard that, I got excited. Maybe I'd get to see Percy. Maybe I could talk to him. Unfortunately, we never did see each other. I guess our times were different or something. That day I waited for him outside the courthouse, along with Leo and Annabeth. We never saw him leave, oddly enough. Annabeth and Leo went to lunch afterwards. I might have joined, if I didn't need to go back to the hospital. I think that was the day I started thinking about it. Percy had saved me twice. Thank God for him. But I was definitely over him. Definitely.

I was sitting in my room, watching TV when he came. He hadn't called ahead of time, so I was absolutely shocked. "Percy!" I exclaimed. "You came to visit."

He did one of his signature half smiles. It seemed different now, almost sadder. "Yeah." He said. "How's it been?"

It was then that I noticed Leo standing with him. I made eye contact and he broke it almost immediately. I decided to ignore it. "I've been doing better." I said, "At least, I'm much better than I was when you came the first time." I chuckled.

He smiled. His eyes still seemed sad. I couldn't quite put my finger on why. While I wasn't happy that he was sad, he did look really good when he pouted. Like, really good… ok, that's off topic.

Where was I? Oh yeah. "That's great." He said. "When are you getting out of here?"

"I still have 'till the end of the week." I explained. "After the, I'll be out of here."

"Great." He said. "I'm going back tomorrow."

"Wait, you haven't gone back yet?" I asked.

"Well, I've had some trouble re-adjusting." When he said that, I knew something was completely wrong. Percy was strong. He dealt with years of abuse, not telling anyone. He shouldn't be having trouble adjusting to a free life. He had finally escaped Gabe. He should be happy. Suddenly I wasn't admiring how he looked when he was sad. I looked harder. I guess I was too absorbed in his emerald eyes to see the pain. It was like all the hope that he held on to with Gabe was drained. It honestly scared me, because that's how I looked before my attempt.

"Are you ok?" He asked. Shit, he noticed.

"I'm fine." I said hastily, "It's nothing."

He studied my expression. I believe he realized. But of course, he kept his mouth shut. Typical Percy. "So," he sputtered out, "is the hospital treating you good."

"It's kinda dull." I said with a smile. "But I can't really complain."

"You're not gonna miss it though, are you?"

"Nope. I'm gonna be happy when I get out of here." I said.

He chuckled. The nurse came in to tell Percy it was time for one of my appointments. "Alright," he told the nurse. Then he turned to me. "Well it looks like we're leaving on better terms this time." he said. "See ya later, Nico."

And with that he was gone again. Only this time he left me with more hope. At least, for myself. Now it was my time to worry about him. I stared at the door until the nurse called to me. "Di Angelo! It's time for your appointment."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." I said as I stood. Now I was gone too.

To be continued…

So this was shorter than the others. Sorry. I just wanted to get it in today. Oh yeah, I might not be able to write until I finish House of Hades. It shouldn't take too long, but I just wanted to warn you guys. So yeah. Make good decisions. Peace!


	3. Chapter 3: Solitario

Hello! So yeah, I finished House of Hades in less than a day. It was absolutely the best one yet. Though, I might have to adjust the story a bit now that I've read it. It happens. Oh yeah, I'm going to be doing a chapter for Happily Ever After before I come back to this again. Check that one out too. Ok, so you should probably know by now that I'm not Rick (though I did predict the Nico thing). PJO and HoO belong to him. Oh, and I guess I should say that I don't own the songs that the chapter names are taken from. So far that's Pierce the Veil and Sleeping with Sirens (this chapter name is original). This chapter is a happy one by the way. Ok, Story time.

Broken

Chapter 3: Solitario

Leo

I was actually expecting more of a fight from Percy. I knew it was a hard time for him. Hell, it was a hard time for all of us. Annabeth was taking it much harder than most of us. Then again, I guess there's a good reason. I mean, Percy meant so much to her. I'm pretty sure that she liked him from the beginning. Even before I met him, she never shut up about him. Seriously, it was kinda annoying.

Then there was the whole Nico thing. I'm gonna be honest, I'm really put off by it. I just- why would he attempt suicide? There was no reason. Unless… Was it Percy? I mean, we all knew about it. Nico made it obvious. But did Nico try something? Moreover, was that worth ending your own life? Was anything, really? I know that's not exactly fair. But seriously, why would anyone end their own life?

I was thinking about that when we visited Nico. I tried to look at him, you know? Tried to see what pushed him so far. I guess he caught me staring, cause the was a moment when he looked at me with this bewildered look on his face. Yeah, that was awkward. I looked away really quickly. Luckily he ignored it. Might have given him the wrong idea. Not that there's anything wrong with all of that, it's just, I don't exactly play for his team. That sounds really bad, doesn't it? I don't know how to fix that. It's weird, but give me any mechanical problem, there's no problem. Speaking though; not my strongest suit. I'm working on it though.

But yeah, you might be asking why I took so much interest in this whole thing. Well, I asked myself that a lot as well. I don't know, I guess I felt guilty for not seeing it all coming. I mean, I really should have known about Nico. And I figured Gabe was a bad guy, but I never even dreamed that it could be as bad as it was. Looking back on it though, it was obvious. And if I just could have just gotten my head out of my ass, I could've done something, you know? Instead I feel like I ignored them. I guess I was trying to make up for it.

I started out by trying to comfort Annabeth. She was traumatized from the ordeal. It wasn't hard. I mean, I basically make people laugh for a living, you know? It's, like, my thing. I kinda just hung around her and acted normal. I was used to pretending I was happy.

After the trial (which, let me tell you, was definitely _interesante_. The prosecutor was _uno tonto del coro_. He tried to say that Percy was lying about getting abused.) Annabeth wanted to see Percy. I thought that was going to be it. I mean, they always cheered each other up before. Nico was with us. Again, that was uncomfortable. But in the end, he didn't come out. Or he came out a different exit. It was almost like he was avoiding us. But, why would he do that? And if he was avoiding us, why was there no backlash? Why did he want to talk to Nico if he was one of the people he avoided?

More than anything, why had I gone in this deep? I mean, I knew that not many people would do the same. In fact, I could tell you for a fact that before I met Jason, (who introduced me to the group) I hadn't ever met _anyone_ that would. But maybe that was it. Our group was that group that would do anything for each other. Thinking back to it, everyone was trying to help out. Even Zhang was helping (by hanging around Hazel mostly, but he was very supporting towards Annabeth, I'll give him that). Hazel and Piper were always talking to Annabeth, trying to talk her through it. Jason was visiting Nico at least once a week (which was weird cause Nico always creeped Jason out). I think that, however horrible it was, in the end we were going to be closer for it. All of this was passing through my mind as I left the hospital. I guess that's why I wasn't paying attention. I guess that's why I plunged headfirst into a girl with long black hair. A girl who would, in time, change my life.

* * *

Percy's mom had picked him up, so I was walking back to mar car when she came around a corner. She was holding a full cup of coffee; so of course, it spilled all over both of us. "Oh, _mierda. Lo siento._" I stopped myself. I really need to stop slipping into Spanish."I'm so sorry. Ah, _mierda_."

She just glared at me. Ah, so she was one of _those_ girls. I met plenty of these girls at school. She opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it before anything came out. She took a very long, and honestly way too dramatic, breath. "You spilled my coffee," She took another breath and looked down, then way far up, "all over my dress."

I guess she was too busy to notice the steam coming from my own clothes. And I really liked that jacket. "I'm really sorry. Do you have, like, a napkin or some-?"

She cut me off with a sigh. "A napkin isn't gonna get the stain out."

"Yeah, I know. Look I'm really sorry."

"Sorry won't get me back this dress." She snapped.

I glared at her. I really didn't want to apologize again; in fact, I wanted to set her on fire. But then I thought of something my mother told me. I was about 5, and she told me to "kill 'em with kindness". And so, I just took a breath. "Look," I told her, "my house is like three minutes from here. We have this stuff that gets out stains. It's a miracle worker. So if you want, I can go home and get it for you."

"Great," she said, "take me there."

I raised an eyebrow. "How about I go and you stay here. I don't even know you."

"Exactly," she said, "How can I know that you'll come back?"

Even though I was a little insulted, she did have a point. "Ok. How about I give you something important of mine, so I have to come back to get it." I rummaged through my pockets and pulled out a sphere. "Take this."

She looked at it with confusion. "What in the world is that thing? And how is it so _special_?" she asked.

"It's an Archimedes Sphere. It's basically any gadget known to man in one device. As to why it's so special; my dad gave it to me. Or at least, I think he did."

"Wait, you don't know."

"It's a long story and I really don't feel like telling a complete stranger." I held it closer to her. "Take it."

"No."

"Why not? I mean, don't you have to be somewhere in the hospital? That's why you're here, right?"

"Actually, I'm here to see my sister, and I sure as anything can't do that with a giant coffee stain down the front of me. Besides," she looked down, "I know how much something like that can mean to a person." I took the time to actually look at her. She looked about sixteen years old, same as me. She actually didn't wear a lot of makeup, oddly. Usually girls like her, in my experience, had a face full of the stuff. Her dress, minus the coffee, was also different. It was one of those dresses that might have been homemade and were very simple, but really elegant at the same time. I can't really explain it any better then that.

"Ugh, fine," I said. "But at least tell me your name. I can't let some girl whose name I don't even know in my car, not to mention my home."

"My name is Calypso Nightshade." She said. "And yours?"

"Leo Valdez." I said.

"Alright Leo Valdez," she said, "Let's see how much of a miracle worker this stuff really is. To your house."

"Alright then." I said as I led Calypso to my car. "To my house." I let her into the car and went around to the driver's seat.

_Calypso Nightshade_ I thought to myself as I entered. "Oh, and if you try anything, like if this is some sort of rape/kidnapping plot, I can and will destroy you," she said cheerfully "ok?" _Ay dios mio_.

To be continued…

So yey, a chapter that isn't morbid. And it's longer then I usually do. I actually really liked writing this chapter. Leo is really one of my very favorite characters. And the little bits with him cursing in Spanish, it just makes me happy. But yeah, if **you** didn't like it, or if you did, post a review. Tell me who your favorite character/narrator is so far. And like I said, check out HEA on my profile. I think it's pretty good. Review that too. Seriously guys, the more reviews I get, the better the story is gonna be. Oh, and if anyone's interested in Beta-ing this, just tell me. So yeah, make good decisions. Peace!


	4. Chapter 4: La Casa

Hello people. I know I didn't post last week, and I also said I'd be updating Happily Ever After. I've been a little busy, but I'm back. And in those few weeks, I forgot what I was going to do next in HEA. I'll figure it out. Anyway, if you haven't read my one-shot (Monochrome) go ahead and read that. It's pretty great (if I do say so myself). I finally got a cover image for this. I hope you like that. Ok, so I'm not Rick Riordan. I don't own PJO, HOO or any of the characters.

Broken

Chapter 4: La Casa

Leo

Ok, so maybe letting a strange girl I just met into my car wasn't a great idea. And bringing her to my house was an even worse one. But what was I gonna do? She insisted on it. It's not like I wanted to spill her coffee on her clothes. And I sure as hell didn't want her in my house. I tried everything I could, didn't I? Hopefully I could just have her wait outside. If she saw the inside… _Dios_, that wouldn't be good.

The car ride was silent, awkward, and long. At least, it felt like eternity. I guess it wasn't any longer than usual. But my ADHD brain just destroys my sense of time sometimes, especially when there was an annoying girl in the passenger seat. When we finally got to my house, she followed me to my front door.

"Uh, Calypso," I said, "Maybe you should wait out here."

"And why would I do that?" She retorted, "I gotta get that 'miracle' stuff, right?"

"I can get it."

"What's wrong, Leo Valdez? Are you ashamed of your own home?"

"No, that's not it." _Well, maybe a little_. "It's just-"

"Well, let's get going. I don't want to miss visiting hours."

I held my head in defeat. "Let's go, Valdez."

Glaring at her, I took out my keys. I might have been shaking at this point. That would've explained Calypso's laugh. Taking my good old time, I stuck the keys in the hole and turned. _Ok,_ I thought, _maybe we can just get in and out. She doesn't have to see-_

My hopes were struck down as soon as I opened the door. Standing right there was the five foot bane of my existence, and he looked particularly red.

"Gleeson," I said, trying to avoid the rage building up. He looked like he was about to explode on me, but then he squinted in confusion. Oh no. He saw her.

"Who is this, Valdez?"

"Gleeson, this is Calypso. Calypso, this is Gleeson Hedge," I gulped, "My-"

"His foster parent. I'm his foster parent." He explained with a little smirk. "And stop calling me Gleeson."

Well, there it was. I don't know why I didn't want Calypso to know about my situation. I probably would never see her after today, and it's not like I was trying to impress her. Let's face it, if I was, I was doing a shit job so far.

Calypso held out her hand. Gleeson took it and shook it. It was oddly formal for him. "How do you do, Mister Hedge."

He turned to me. "Your girlfriend's a keeper, Valdez."

"She's not my girlfriend. I accidentally spilt some coffee on her." I tried to explain. "She needed to clean up."

"Wait a second," Gleeson said, "You just met this girl?"

"Well," I said, not sure what to say. "I guess so."

"It was my fault," Calypso chimed in "I insisted on coming over."

I turned to her. Why did she do that? "We still have to talk about that. But, we can do that after she gets cleaned up."

Jason and Piper came down the stairs at that moment. I can only imagine what they were up to up there. "Ah, Piper," Gleeson said. "Right on time. Maybe you could help Calypso here into a new outfit. Valdez messed up the one she's wearing now."

Piper smiled. "Sure. You wanna come up to my room?"

"Uh," Calypso said, "sure."

The two went upstairs. "I'm about to go visit Nico." Jason said as he headed for the door

"He has an appointment." I said.

"Uh, how do you know that?" he said.

"I just came from there. That's where I ran into her."

"So she was leaving the hospital?"

"No, she was coming in."

"Oh my god, Leo." Jason said "You ruined her outfit before she even got into the hospital?"

"Yeah."

"That's not how you hit on someone, Leo"

"I wasn't hitting on her," my voice went up about half an octave, "I was on my way out, I rounded a corner and BAM, there she was."

Jason snickered. He could be a real _gilipollas _sometimes. "Ok," interrupted Gleeson, "Maybe you could start up the washing machine, Leo."

"Sure thing." I said.

Jason turned to Gleeson as I walked to the laundry room. "What's _his_ problem?"

Gleeson shushed him and mumbled something. I was too far away to decipher it. I strolled over to the washing machine and turned the knob, letting the water flow. Unfortunately, the water just trickled out. So _that's_ why Gleeson told me to start it. I turned off the water and turned the machine around. The intake valve was loose. Really, it wasn't that big of a problem. I fixed it with a flick of a wrench and turned the machine back around.

"Hey," Calypso's voice surprised me. I dropped the wrench.

"Uh… H-hey, Calypso" I said, turning to her. If I wasn't blushing before, I sure was now. I could feel the heat on my cheeks as I looked over her new outfit. It was a really simple outfit, jeans and a silk t-shirt, hair pulled back and braided, but she looked like a goddess. Immortal. Beautiful. I snapped out of it pretty quickly, though my ears were still hot. She chuckled.

"I figured you should have my dress." She tossed me the simple garment. "So you're adopted?"

"Um… Not exactly." I explained. "This is my foster home. It's court ordered." I felt the blush come back.

"Oh," she said, "What did you do?"

"Uh, it was something stupid. I ran away from my last few homes. This is my last stop before I'm sent away to a correctional… thing." I managed to sputter out.

"What happened to to your parents?"

At that point I started to just mutter out random syllables while tapping a beat on my leg. It was a little thing my mom taught me. Morse code. I sometimes did that when I remembered her, or I was nervous. It sometimes calmed me down.

"Ok," she said before I lost my struggle with breathing, "I shouldn't have asked. Sorry."

I gulped. "No," I gasped, "It's fine."

"Are you ok. Your fingers are going crazy."

"No, I'm fine. It's just a habbit." I said, shoving my fingers into my pockets. They were still furiously tapping. _.. / .-.. - ...- . / -.- - ..-_

"I'm so sorry." She said, again. "Maybe you should sit down. I'll get some water." And with that she rushed out of the room. I sat down next to the washing machine. I reached up and turned it on, trying to distract myself from the panic attack I was having. _Great,_ I thought, _I haven't had one of these in two years. I really thought I was finally done with these._ I tossed the dress into the machine right as Calypso ran back in. She had a glass of water in her hand and Gleeson hedge on her ass.

"What's wrong?!" He yelled. "What happened?!"

"I'm so sorry," Calypso sputtered out. "I didn't mean to- I didn't know- I was just asking-"

"It's not your fault." Gleeson said. "He gets these sometimes."

"Yeah," I said weekly, "I'll be fine."

I sat down and drank the water that she gave me. I hope my acting was good enough to fool her. So far, the only one to see past it was Gleeson. Calypso opened her mouth, as if to say something, but she shut it almost right away. "ok," she said.

After about twenty minutes, my vision stopped spinning. I stood up, still a little weak from the attack. Gleeson had finished preparing the laundry, so now we just had to wait for it to finish.

"Um," Calypso said, "Could I- I'm sorry- Could I go back to the hospital now? Visiting hours will be over if we wait much longer."

"I guess so," I said, "but what about your dress?"

"Well," she said, "I was planning to come back anyway." _Wait, what?_

"Valdez, you are in no shape to drive."

"But Gleeson-"

"No buts. Maybe Jason will take you. He wants to visit Di Angelo anyway."

"Yeah," I said, "I guess you're right."

"That's right, I'm right." He said.

Calypso and I left the room to find Jason. It wasn't hard. He was one of those people who just owned any room that he walked into. He was also waiting by the door. Weird how things work out, huh?

"Hey Jason," I said, "would you mind-"

"I heard," he said. "Let's go. Nico's appointment will be over soon, and visiting hours are over a half hour after that. No time to lose."

And with that, Calypso's first unofficial tour of _la casa de Valdez_ ended. It would certainly not be her last.

To be continued…

Ok, so I'm not sure how my one-shot has more reviews than this. Guys, that's not good. This has three chapters. Monochrome had one. Please please please please please review this. I need your opinions on stuff. Honestly, a follow/favorite doesn't really tell me how you feel. I don't care how short it is, I just really need your review.

Ok, so that mental breakdown aside, I really appreciate every single reader. So, as always, make good decisions. Peace!


	5. Chapter 5: Shot

*Gasp*… Is that two chapter updates this weekend? Well, it's technically Monday, but whatever. Yes, I got two chapters out. I'm rather proud of that actually. Take it as a gift because I missed last week. And the week before was a one shot. But yeah, all credit for the Percy Jackson series and characters goes to the amazing Mr. Riordan.

Broken

Chapter 5: Shot Through the Heart

Nico

Well, I'd like to say that my appointment was uneventful. I'd like to say that I kept my cool, and Percy didn't even come up. After all, that's what had been happening for about a week. That's what convinced them to let me go in the first place. But no, right as I was finally getting to leave, Percy visited. I managed to keep my cool for about five minutes. I mean, my psychologist saw something was wrong, and questioned it. And so, of course, I broke down. I told him about Percy's visit. I told him how I saw that all too familiar emptiness in his eyes. I told him how I needed to help him. I cried.

He listened. And listened. And watched. And observed. And wrote. I had no idea what he wrote. It could have been good. Or it could have been something like "patient has regressed back to the state in which we started." When I stopped rambling, he stopped writing. Then he asked me something. "Are you still in love with him?"

I was stunned. I had told him about Percy at the beginning of the sessions. As time went on, I talked about him less and less. The last time we talked about Percy, I had told him that I no longer loved him. And yet, here I was. I knew what I should say. But was that a lie? How did I feel about Percy? Was I still in love with him? Or was it purely platonic. I thought back to our meeting. "Yes."

The single, muttered word rang out like a gunshot, lingering in the air. I could almost smell it. He wrote. He wrote so much, I worried about the condition of the paper. As he wrote, I spoke up again. "It's not like it was. I mean, he's with Annabeth now. I know that. I respect that. I'm not going to impulsively kiss him again. Or at least, I hope I don't. That wouldn't be good. Anyway, yeah, I still love him. And I know that I'll never be with him. And I'm trying my hardest to get over it, but I guess I'll have to just deal with it, you know? I think I'll always be in love with him. And I'll always be the one he won't love back. That doesn't really matter though. You know, he has done some stuff that should make me hate him. When he pushed me away that day, a small part of me wanted so bad to hate him. The way he acted to Luke, even if he kind of deserved it, would've been a closing deal for me. If that wasn't Percy, if it was just some guy who wanted to date Annabeth, and there were many, I would have hated him." I paused for a second to see if that would invoke a response. But aside from the scratching of his pencil, all was quiet.

I continued. "But there's just something about Percy. I don't even know what it is. But when I look into those green ocean eyes, when I hear his voice, I feel like everything that was important, all my insecurities, they're all gone. All that's left is a feeling like- I don't know. Like I'm home, if that makes any sense. Like I finally belong somewhere, and that somewhere is his arms. I know, it's stupid. He doesn't want me like that. If he ever holds me, it'll only be in a 'younger-brother' sort of way. And while I accept that, I can't help but to feel a little angry, you know. It's nothing against Annabeth. She's amazing. She's the sister I miss so much." He knew about Bianca too. "And I'm not mad at Percy either. He doesn't like me. That's not his fault. But there's still anger. And I have no idea who it's directed to. It makes no sense." More scratching. More silence.

After a minute of silence, he looked up at me. "You don't know who you're angry at." He said. "I'm not sure that's true." I studied his expression from across the table. "Nico," he said, "you're close to an answer. I can't give you that for you, though I wish that I could. Think about it. You're angry. You're not angry at Annabeth, who would be the obvious target of aggression. No, you don't hate her. Nor do you hate Percy. You even said that you could never be angry with him. Who's left? Who are you angry with? Who do you blame?"

I sat there for a second. Not because I didn't know. His speech had made it pretty clear to me. And not because he was wrong. He was right. But I didn't want to admit it. "I'm angry with myself." I said slowly, as if any syllable could end me. "I blame myself. I should be so much more. Maybe if I was, I would be worthy of him. Of Annabeth. Of Bianca's memory. They all deserve so much more than I can give them. And I can't even admit it without a professional intervention. How pathetic is that? That's why I'm angry. I can never be enough for any of them."

He stopped me. "You are not pathetic Nico. If Bianca was still here, she would say the same thing. You are so much more than you give yourself credit for. Most people would never admit something like that. Hell, most people admit that they still loved someone who broke their heart. At least, not to someone else. It takes so much bravery to say what you have today. I can tell you, if Percy was here, he would be proud." I looked at him again. He was so sincere. And he knew what he was talking about. Percy is one of his patients. So, would Percy really be _proud_. Would Bianca really say that? It sounded like something she would say, but still. His expression didn't change. I smiled.

An alarm went off on his clock. The session was over. "Well," he said, "That's it for today." He put out his hand. "I think we did some good work today."

I shook his hand. "Thank you Chiron."

"And hey, starting next week, you better be ready to call me Mr. Brunner. You can't be going around calling the Principle by a nickname." We both smiled. Things were going to be ok. I was sure of it.

To be continued…

So hooray for Nico's perspective. Yeah. So I wasn't actually going to write this yet, but my roommate decided that he was going to play Madden all night. Obnoxiously loud. He's still playing. At 4 o'clock. So, this is the result. Hope y'all like it. If you want to learn more about any of the characters, or if you just really like/hate it, R&R this sucker. (Reviews would be best.) I'm really looking forward to future chapters. Alright, Until next time. Make good decisions. Peace!


	6. Chapter 6: Far Too Young To Die

Hi again. I'm so sorry about not putting anything out last week. I've been loaded with work for the end of the semester, and it's been affecting just about everything. Anyway, here's a new chapter for you guys. I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus (they both go to Rick), or the song that the chapter is named after (which goes to Panic! At the Disco). Please enjoy.

Broken

Chapter 6: Far Too Young to Die

Nico

No sooner than I left my appointment was I ambushed by a certain Jason Grace. He has really got to stop with that. It started a few weeks ago, completely out of the blue. It was two weeks after I was admitted into the hospital. Somehow, he had deduced what had happened. He never told me how, but he knew about Percy. He knew what I did.

Now, naturally, I was a little taken aback. Percy had told me that no one knew. He didn't tell anyone. So, since Jason knew, there were two distinct possibilities. Either Percy slipped up and told somebody, namely Jason, or Jason had some sort of Sherlock Holmes skills. Or maybe somehow he herd me talk about it. Maybe he overheard me going to one of my appointments. But like I said, he wouldn't tell me how he knew, so it was a secret for now.

Anyway, he just burst into my room, unannounced, like Percy did, with a smile and a get well soon bouquet. It was awkward. The first words out of his mouth that first time were "I know about Percy." Um, ok then.

This time, he actually ambushed me in Chiron's waiting room. How did he know when I had an appointment? The bouquet never changed. Lots of yellow and white flowers with names that I will never remember. But the flowers were all the same. I could see that. It was the same stupid little card too. There was this little teddy bear holding a sign saying "Get well soon". How did he get so many of those? He was just a blond bag of mystery.

"Hey Jason." I said in the most awkward way possible. It was high-pitched and squeaky. I'm not sure why I did that exactly, but I did.

Equally as awkward, Jason replied "Hey Nico. What's up?"

"Um, I just got out of an appointment. You know, with my psychiatrist."

"Yeah, I see that."

_Why didn't you let me go to my room then_ I thought. Physically, I just stood there, pressing my lips together into a tight line. We sat in silence for a long time. I noticed that his hair was longer then it was before all of this happened. He didn't look so stiff now. He wasn't, as Percy put it, "the military poster-child" anymore. He looked like a teenager, especially with the groove in the side of his hair. It looked like somebody tried to take a razor to his hair, but stopped before it could get very far. It made him look rebellious, like a teenager should. Everyone noticed his gradual change that started when Percy came. He started to wear less purple, and more orange. His posture relaxed. His smile got more genuine. Before Percy, only Leo or Piper could make him smile. Now he actually looked happy. And I guess he wanted to share that with me. For some reason.

After about a minute, he shook his head, as if coming out of a trance and held out the flowers and card. "Um, maybe we should go to my room first." I said pointing behind me in a spastic way.

"Oh yeah." He said. "We should… go then. Right?"

I nodded and started walking to my room. "So, how did you know about my appointment?" I had to know.

"Actually, Leo told me about it." He said.

"Oh yeah." I had almost forgotten that Leo and Jason lived in the same foster home.

We walked in silence the rest of the way. When we arrived at my room, I set down the card and flowers on the table. "So," said Jason, "You're coming back next week, right?"

"Yep," I replied "I can't wait to get out of here."

"Yeah, I bet. Do you have the schoolwork and stuff that you missed?"

"Yeah, I got most of it done. I'm in the middle of an English paper at the moment."

"Oh, do you need help?" He asked.

"No, I got it."

There was another awkward pause. "And I heard Percy visited."

I might have blushed a little at that. God Damnit. "Yeah. He and Leo stopped by for a bit." I tried really hard to try to look like it was nonchalant. Let's just say, there was a reason I wasn't an actor.

"Did you talk to him about-?"

"Nope, I'm not going to, like I told you every time you've visited."

"I'm just saying-"

"Stop. He already knows that I like him. I don't want to give him the 'creepy stalker dude' vibe, so please just stop."

"All I'm trying to say is-"

"I don't care."

"Look-"

"No, you look. I am not going to make a fool out of myself. Let it drop."

"Alright." He said. "But-"

"Get out." I choked out.

He stared at me. "I'm sorry."

"I said get out." I said, louder this time.

"I'm not trying to-"

"Get out of this room. _Right now_."

"Look, I'm sorry."

"_Get out!_"

"Nico, just let me-"

"_Shut up, get out._" I know it was harsh. I'm not sure why I actually did it. I just got really emotional.

He backed out into the doorframe. "I'm not trying to upset you. But, you really need to talk to him." Then he turned and walked away.

I fell into my bed. God, what was my problem. Screaming into my pillow, I thought about how Jason only wanted to help. I pushed him away. Just lie I did with everyone. Ugh. I decided to watch a little television. Maybe I can drown out the thoughts intruding into my previously calm mind. And, naturally, absolutely nothing was on. I clicked off the TV and I fell into my bed.

My mind was flooding with memories. Everything around me faded and a room with beige walls replaced it. I recognized it as my house. I also realized that I was 10 years old again. "Bianca!" I called. Silence.

I didn't think much of it. She might still be sleeping, I thought. I decided to go downstairs to grab some breakfast. Stuck to the fridge was a note.

_Nico,_

_ I had to go out to get some groceries. If you are reading this before I get back, there is a meal in the microwave for you. We have cereal if you're still hungry._

_ Love You,_

_ Bianca_

_ P.S. Leave some of that food for me. I'm gonna be hungry when I get back._

I knew what was about to happen. I had relived this moment countless times. But old me had no clue. He… I just shrugged and poured myself a bowl of cereal. She could have the microwaved thing when she got back. I turned in the TV. There was a story about of a construction site accident that had just happened. I wasn't all that interested, so I changed the channel to Cartoon Network. There was a marathon of some show I enjoyed. Teen Titans maybe? I never actually saw the show though. It was a commercial. About a minute later, with the commercials still playing, there was a knocking on the door.

Clad only in pajama pants and a t-shirt two sizes to large, I went to answer that knock. A police man with a stony, ashen face was standing on the other side. "Hello?" I said.

He swallowed. "Is this the home of Bianca Di Angelo?" His voice was shaky, but deep. He sounded, and looked, like the kind of person who was usually confident. But the way he stood was giving off a sad aura.

"Yeah," I said, starting to get a little worried. "Why do you ask?" I was scared now. Bianca always told me that police could take us away. After our mother died, we were orphans and shouldn't be able to live in the house anymore. We had to be careful.

"Are your parents home?"

"Uh, no, our mom went on a retreat. I can tell her when she gets back." Yeah, I lied to a cop, but I didn't want to leave. If I told the truth, he might take us both away. Or at least, that was the thought. He probably knew.

"What about your father?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Never met him." That much was mostly true. He left my mom when I was a baby. Bianca knew him, but she would never tell me about him.

"Are you Nico?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe we should go sit down." I led him to the living room and we both sat down. The police man looked like he was about to shatter. He swallowed again. "There's been an accident. Your sister and a friend were at a construction site when it started falling. I'm not sure how it happened, but" his voice trailed off. He took a big breath. "Uh, the friend is in critical condition."

I stared at him. "What about my sister. What happened to Bianca?"

He took another big breath. "There was nothing anyone could do."

"No."

"She was dead before we got to the scene."

"No. You're lying." I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. I knew what he said was true. I could feel it. I just didn't want to admit it.

He reached for my shoulder as the first tear trickled down my face. "_Don't touch me_." I said, slapping the hand away. "You're lying. She's not- She can't be-"

"I wish that I was."

There was a long pause. My next question was almost a whimper. "Who was it? Who was the friend?"

"Nico," he said, "it wasn't her fault."

"_Who was it_?"

He took another breath. "Zoe Nightshade."

There was a lot more exchanging. I tried to deny it a lot more. The police man tried to comfort me. I pushed him away. It was a pretty vicious cycle. When he left I remember going to my bed and crying my eyes out.

It was the day that I died. Not physically, but my spirit left that day. The little kid in me was dead. I was a shell. There were very few days after that that I felt happy. There was the day that I came out as bisexual in freshman year. There was the day that I met Percy. There was the day at the courthouse. Those are really the only ones.

Zoe went into a coma after that. She hadn't stirred for five years. She was in the same hospital I was in actually. I knew that she had a sister, Calypso. My therapist recommended that I meet up with her. I never did. She moved away the next year. We never even talked.

As I realized my place in the hospital bed, I also felt sleep reach out to me. I guess the flashback did a number on me. As my eyes closed and I fell asleep, a single, accurate prediction came to my mind. It was going to be a long week.

To be continued…

So yeah, it's almost two thousand words and eight pages. Yey. Again, sorry for last week. Does the length make up for it? If not, well, I've apologized three times now. Also, sorry for all the exposition. I didn't plan for a sequel in the first one. If you have any questions comments complements or complaints, leave a review. Make good decisions. Peace.


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